2027: Datti Rejects Obi, Others as Alternatives to Tinubu

Former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said none of the politicians challenging President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election can improve Nigeria, including his former running mate, Peter Obi.

Baba-Ahmed spoke on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, in an interview posted on Saturday.

He was asked what advice he would give Tinubu about his leadership of the country. The former lawmaker said the President should prepare to leave office but should not hand power to any of the politicians currently opposing him.

“I will simply advise uncle (Tinubu) to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him because none of them will improve Nigeria,” he said.

When asked whether he meant all the opposition figures, Baba-Ahmed maintained that his assessment covered those challenging Tinubu.

He argued that many of the politicians had, at one time or another, been associated with the ruling political establishment.

Asked specifically if he included Obi, his former presidential running mate, Baba-Ahmed replied: “Including Peter Obi, I’m sorry to say.”

He recalled that Obi was once a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, which controlled the Federal Government for 16 years, while arguing that Nigeria needed a fundamentally different political direction.

“Tell me one politician who has never been in a ruling party. Tell me,” he said.

Okinbaloye then pointed out that Baba-Ahmed had also been involved in politics and served in the National Assembly.

In response, the former lawmaker said he had never belonged to a ruling party. He explained that he was with the Congress for Progressive Change when it remained an opposition party.

Baba-Ahmed said he also resigned from the All Progressives Congress after the party emerged from the merger involving the CPC and other opposition parties and subsequently took power.

He stressed that he never obtained an APC membership card, insisting that his criticism of the political class went beyond party affiliation.

According to him, his position was based largely on the political history of those seeking to replace Tinubu and what he described as their previous involvement in the existing political system.

Baba-Ahmed and Obi ran on the Labour Party ticket in the 2023 presidential election, finishing third behind Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Following the 2023 election, Baba-Ahmed left the Labour Party for the Peoples Redemption Party.

Obi, meanwhile, left the Labour Party and joined the African Democratic Congress, which has adopted him as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.